Life's Little Frustrations

There are so many things I need to do

I don't know which to choose.

While I'm thinking it all through

I think I'll take a snooze!

MY Shepherd

Psalm 23:1a,  "The Lord is MY Shepherd..."

Psalm 100:3b,  "We are his people, the sheep of his pasture."

      The Lord is the Good Shepherd who provides and cares tenderly, constantly, and intimately for His sheep.  His sheep thrive under His care.  Satan is a wicked shepherd, one who neglects, abuses, exploits, and deceives the sheep that follow him.  Picture a flock of gaunt, starving, diseased sheep in a pasture of dried up grass and poisonous weeds gazing longingly at lush green grass inside a fence where the healthy sheep of a good shepherd eat contentedly.  Sheep can only wish for a better shepherd and ideal grazing conditions, but people have the ability to choose which shepherd they will follow.  Can you say, as the psalmist David said,  "The Lord is MY shepherd?"  Are you following the Good Shepherd?

      John 10:7-10,  "Therefore Jesus said again, 'I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.  All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.  I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.  He will come in and go out, and find pasture.  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full."

Father, thank You that You want us to have eternal life and abundant life in this world, and You have provided both for us.  May we embrace and follow Christ, our Good Shepherd.  Amen.

Life's Little Frustrations

Let me tell you just what's new.

This April it is not the flu,

But it's something spread by a kiss or a hug—

It's the dreaded throw-up bug!

My Shepherd

Psalm 23 begins,  "The Lord is my shepherd."

      One of the most widely read and best loved passages in all of Scripture is Psalm 23, the Shepherd Psalm.  Our devotionals are going to take a close look at its details for awhile.

      We begin by asking,  "Just who is this Shepherd, yours and mine?" 

He is the Lord, the Triune God, our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. 

He is God Almighty, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, glorious, a righteous, holy God, but also One who is full of grace and mercy and forgiveness and love.  Because He loves us, He desires the very best for us.  We also desire the very best lives we can have, but only God is wise enough to know what that best is and powerful enough to bring that best about.  Someone said this,  "He is too good to do evil, too wise to make a mistake, and too powerful to lose control."  And He is our Shepherd.  The only safe place for our lives to be is in His much more than capable hands.

      Since the Lord is our Shepherd, it behooves us to become submissive to His will and walk in the paths through which He leads us.

  It is only by following our Shepherd that our lives will find optimum fulfillment.  We are challenged to do just that in Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

Father, thank You that You are willing to guide us step by step through this life.  May I always be submissive to Your will and walk in the path that You mark out for me.  Amen.

Life's Little Frustrations

My favorite season would be spring

Except my eyes begin to sting

And then my nose starts to run--

Hay fever spoils all the fun!

Keep Walking

Romans 12:1, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship."

Galatians 5:25, "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."

We know that any journey, no matter how long, begins with the first step. Actually there is a first step for each of us as we begin our life's journey. The beginning is physical birth. But there is a first step for our journey as Christians as well, and that step is spiritual birth. In order to have spiritual life, one must be born spiritually. This is what Jesus meant when He told Nicodemus, "You must be born again." Without spiritual birth, people remain helpless sinners with a hopeless future. Romans 6:23 spells that out for us by saying, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

But there are many steps in completing a journey. The first step of spiritual birth will take us to heaven, but as Christians we are to walk step by step with our Lord in this life, keeping in step with the Holy Spirit--neither lagging behind nor running ahead. Our lives should be committed completely into God's keeping and totally under His direction and at His disposal.

There are some things in life that no one can make you fully understand until you have experienced them for yourself. One is what it is like to fall in love. Another is how wonderful it is to have grandchildren--you are amazed at how beautiful and brilliant and wonderful they are. And one is the joy and peace of walking hand in hand and step by step with our Heavenly Father. Scripture calls this "the abundant life." Some people call it "the victorious Christian life." I guarantee you there's nothing like it. I challenge you with the psalmist's words in Psalm 34:8, "Taste and see that the Lord is good."

Father, not until we place ourselves completely in Your hands can we experience all the peace and joy and love and everything else wonderful that You want to provide for us. May we walk hand in hand and step by step with You all the way through this life's journey and on into heaven. Amen.